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An admitted shoe geek waxes philosophical about running, triathlon, and life in general.
Comments welcome!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Engi-nerdy love!....and motivation!

Lisa continues her September contributions:

I lived in Chicago suburbs and Dave lived (and still does) near Tacoma, WA - when we "met". We met online...on beginnertriathlete.com.Dave first sent me a message...a few weeks later I was on a plane to spend New Year's Eve in Seattle. I had never been on the west side of the Rockies. So it was a good little trip for me! (I was barely there for 24 hours - I worked the day before and after.) We had talked for hours and hours on the phone prior, but of course once we were actually meeting in person - we both said very little :-) We had some things in common, we were both Mechanical Engineers - but in very different fields - both (tried) to be active, had a similar sense of humor....etc.
A few months went by, with both of us racking up a few frequent flyer miles. I wasn't really enjoying my job - so I gave my notice and brought the 2 kitties on a long plane ride! (It was of course a bumpier plane ride..but they had each other to cuddle!)He is a very patient and amazing man - with me. Not always so patient with others! [mostly this applies to telemarketers] But we greatly differ in our motivations to exercise. I pretty much exercise to be able to eat more. Or eat the same and lose weight. Dave exercises because it keeps him sane. (He gets pretty grouchy when he hasn't!) I can't say I really "enjoy" working out...but I know Dave does.Why is it that 2 people- who are similar - are so different? It also brings up the point that motivation comes from different places for different people. I need external motivation (and I'm an extrovert...hmm...I bet there is a correlation!) I am consistently inconsistent with my exercise. I need a goal, a race to train for. (Funny enough, I don't actually like racing, but I'll get into that later.) Even with a race - I'm not always that great about training!I guess the key is finding something you like to do. The problem is that I don't like to do anything for very long. So I guess that's where triathlons fit in - gives me something different to do each day! For a sprint, I usually train 5 days a week doing each discipline 2 times.Another problem I have - not only needing an external motivator - I can't have something that is too far away. Or else I procrastinate or lose interest. This may make it difficult for me to do anything longer than a 10K...however, something that may work for me is to cross-train during the "off season". This month I am trying to do each of the aerobics, cycling, yoga classes offered at our local Y. (I'm not planning on doing the "low-impact" things.)So while I try to keep variety and motivation....I wish my wonderful husband would figure out how to exercise FOR me.

Dave & My finish together - 6/30/12

(There were only 4 people in the "Retro" division - so we tied for 3rd :-D)

About Me

I’ve been running since I was in jr high in the late 70’s, and added triathlon in 1984. The sports have changed a lot since, but I see a lot of “returning to its roots" happening in the running world. Along with it, I’m rediscovering a lot of the child-like wonder of beginning all over again. I’ve always been very free with sharing any experience I've gained, whether it’s work related or athletic related. And I’ve continued that with my online interactions.

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